Gone Wrong
by someone010101
Summary: The flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world Or A small change leads to a very anticlimatic ending
1. Eyes on you

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Harry Potter.

It was night at Hogwarts, School for Witchcraft and Wizardy. Students slept or hurriedly wrote their homework for tommorow. Teachers slept, corrected homework in a hurry or patrolled the corridors.

Only Tom Marvolo Riddle was awake in both body and mind. He carefully examined the portrait before him. "Specialis Revelio", he wisphered.

Nothing. His face showed no dissappointment as he used more advanced and more complicated methods of magical detection. His noble ancestor would not have made the chamber easy to find.

Finally, he moved on. Within five years, ever since he had heard the myth, he had investigated even the faintest hint. He had spoken to all the snakes in every portrait. He had checked every Book in the library, including the restricted section. Then he came to the conclusion, that it would be more prudent to just search Hogwarts systematically, from bottom to top.

He looked at his watch. In ten minutes he would have to hide from Professor Slughorn on his patrol. Then he would continue his search for another thirty minutes, before retreating back to bed before, Dumbledores watch began.

Tom Riddle, or Lord Voldemort as he liked to call himself, stopped in front of a small door. Surely Salazar Slytherin would not have placed the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets in a girls toilet ? Then again who would search a girls toilet for Salazar Slytherins secret chamber ?. He was famous for his cunning, after all. Tom sighed and opened the door. At the very least he could hide from Slughorn in there.

He spotted the tiny snake immediately. After years of searching he had gotten quite good at it. He had dreamed of tiny snakes, hidden in a plain, innocent spot. If he closed his eyes he could see snakes dancing in front off him. Sometimes he could see them even if he didn't close his eyes.

_"Hello, little brother" _he hissed. The snake did not respond. This was truly most peculiar. All the other snakes had responded, even if the response wasn't worth anything. Besides, what was a tiny snake doing in a girls toilet. This had to be the chamber. On the other hand ... woudn't Slytherin have used something that looked more innocent ? A normal snake, until the keyword was spoken ?He was known for his cunning after all. But maybe that's exactly what he wanted them to think, that he would never be so blunt to make his biggest secret so damn obvious. Tom sighed heavely and went back to work.

"Specialis Revelio, _Specialis Revelio, _Invenin_, Invenin, _Exhibio,_ Exhibio _...". He went on and on and on ,but still all his results pointed towards a normal bathroom.

Turning towards the snake again he said _"Speak to me !"_. Nothing. _"Salazar Slytherin's heir commands you: Open ..."_. He had barely finished the word when the sink in front off him was replaced with a dark hole. With only a seconds hesitation, he jumped in.

What exactly would "The horror within" be ? Maybe full control off the Hogwarts wards at a level higher then the Headmaster, with a few secret, more nasty wards on top of them. Hopefully, because it would be so fun to throw Dumbledore out. Or maybe a nest off venomous snakes, keyed into the wards and with a method off travelling undetected. He would set one on every single mudblood in Hogwarts. Then he would breed more and set them on the survivors and his enemies. And then he would set them all on Dumbledore.

Or maybe it was his ancestors journal, his findings and procedures. All his knowledge on Potions, Legilimence and even the Dark Arts. Maybe even – dare he hope – the secret of immortality ? Surely Slytherin himself would not be content with a short, mortal, life.

Tom Riddle came to a hold. It looked like the end, but he knew better. _"Open in Salazar Slytherins name"_. It felt good when when the wall shifted. Like he had finally been aknowledged for what he was: The most brilliant student Hogwarts had ever had. The heir of Slytherin. The one who would put muggles and mudbloods in their place. In one word: Lord Voldemort.

He stopped, Slytherins tall statue towering over him. _"Your heir requires an audience"_, he said.

The answering silence was painfully obvious. _"Open"_ he tried again._ "I will rid this world off all mudbloods and blood-traitors"_.

This time the silence was not only painful and obvious, but most of all embarassing.

_"Speak to me"_, he shouted angrily, _"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four"_.

With relief he saw the statue open it's mouth. Of course, there was no way Lord Voldemort would fail after he had come so far. He saw a huge, forked tongue shoot out of the hole.

Then the head of a gigantic snakewith yellow eyes came out of the the statues mouth.

Two thoughts flew through Tom Riddles head. The first was "It's a Basilisk!" the second "I looked into it's eyes ...". And then, he died.

_"What a pity"_, the gigantic snake hissed, _"I was looking forward to some company. It got a bit lonely after the first couple of centuries". _


	2. Looks can be deceiving

Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter.

"It's a logic puzzle", Hermione said confidently, "some of the greatest wizards don't have an ounce of logic. They would be trapped here until the end of time !".

That hardly seemed like good news to Harry. "And, uh, we arn't ?" he asked. "Of course not. Just leave it to me. I'll have it solved in no time." Harry Potter obeyed. If resident genius Hermione Granger could solve that bizzar piece of poetry, who was he to complain ? He leaned back.

What a dangerous night this was. First Hermione had had to hex Neville. Harry still felt bad about that, but they coudn't have let Neville stop them. They had to protect the Stone, Harry reassured himself.

Then they had gone through this "obstacle course". First Fluffy, the gigantic three-headed dog that Hagrid, the groundskeeper, had lent Dumbledore. Then the Devil's Snare that Professor Sprout, the Head of Hufflepuff, had set up. They were so lucky they knew the trick for both the animal and the plant: Music for Fluffy; Fire for the Devil's Snare.

The next think was an animated puzzle, by Professor Flitwick, Head of Rawenclaw. At least that's what it looked like afterwards. Harry didn't even want to know how Snape had spotted the correct key, before it's wing had been damaged. Professor McGonagall, their own Head of House, had animated a chessboard, where you not only had to win, but step onto the board yourself. That was were Ron had ... he had only been knocked out. He was going to be alright.

Quirrel, their DaDA teacher, had used a troll, even bigger then the one they had knocked out on Halloween, as an obstacle. It had been unconscios already, thank God. Dumbledores Defence was the only one remaining. They just had to hope for it to hold Snape back until they could stop him.

"I've got it" Hermiones voice interrupted Harrys thoughts. "This one", she pointed at a large bottle, "gets us back through the purple fire and this one", she pointed at a small bottle, "will get us through the black fire".

Harry looked at the bottle in question. It was barely enough for one person, let alone two.

"Alright", he said, "You go back. Oh don't look at me like that, we don't have time ! Go back, get Ron, then call Dumbledore. I will take the small bottle. Maybe ... maybe I can stop Snape until Dumbledore comes".

"But ... " Hermione began, but was promtly interrupted. "We don't have time, Hermione. Snape could give the Stone to Voldemort right now !". She hugged him. And they drank.

So this had been Snapes obstacle. He probably coudn't do anything nasty with Dumbledore watching. Logic was hardly cunning or underhanded after all, nothing Snape would usually do.

He froze.

"Hermione ?". No Answer. Harry slowly turned around. Hermione was leaning against a wall, her eyes half-closed, as if sleeping. Then everything went dark.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was in a hurry. He had been halfway to the Ministry already when the wards around the Stone allerted him. Whatever "emergency" Fudge had called him for this time had to wait now. The Philosophers Stone was more important.

He jumped from his Thestral before it even reached the ground, pulling himself out of a less then pleasent daydream involving the reborn Voldemort, Harry's corpse and the end of the wizarding World. The Forbidden Corridor was reached faster then healthy for a man of over one hundred years.

He rushed trough the trapdoor, passed the Devil's Snare and the winged Keys with a wave of his wand and words of Power. He stopped next to the Chessboard for just a moment, long enough to ensure Ron wasn't in danger. Then he went on.

When Dumbledore spotted Harry, he sighed in relief. He examined him for a full minute, before levitating him and Hermione to the hospital wing. Ron was picked up on the way.

The hospital wing was empty. He left Madam Pomfrey alone, to inform Professor Snape and collect the antidote from him. When Dumbledore returned to deliver it he was promtly reminded, that his charges were not, in fact, in danger, that they would be perfectly fine and needed, above all else, rest.

With this on mind, he went back to the Stone. Dumbledore he did not even look at the Poem in Professor Snapes room. Instead he went to a seemingly random location on the floor and tipped it with his wand. The fire went out. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore prepared himself, took a deep breath and went into the final Room.

Inside it he was his Defense against the Dark Arts Teacher, an angry Wraith and a broken Mirror.


End file.
